India’s view of its place in the global system does not correspond with the realities at home and in South Asia, according to Sandy Gordon, an Australian scholar specialising on the country’s politics and foreign policy. “Inclusive growth” and “strategic autonomy” have been the two primary goals of India since Independence. Attainment of the first is impeded mainly by the poor quality of governance at all levels and pervasive corruption. Strategic autonomy is adversely affected by what the author of the book calls the “embedded South Asian dissonance.” The twin goals tend to reinforce the country’s historical preference for “continental” strategy i.e. Mackinder’s land-based approach as distinguished from Mahan’s ocean centred strategy. If India wants to play a bigger role in South Asia, Indian Ocean, and Asia-Pacific, it has to alter its priorities at home and abroad, Gordon says. Interestingly, Gordon does not allude to India’s global role anywhere in the book.
However, he fails to spell out what the altered priorities should be. But it must be added quickly that Gordon’s present study, said to be the second on the subject, is a perceptive analysis of the Indian situation today and yesterday. One hopes that he will come out with the third book after five years when the Modi-led BJP Government’s development agenda and the “muscular foreign policy” seeking enhanced national security would have completed their first innings.
In the first part, the book analyses the interlocking set of problems confronting India at home, South Asia, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and beyond. The second part suggests a set of what the author calls ‘strategies’ needed to address them.
Over the last seven decades, industrialisation, modernisation, and democratisation are overlaid on the ancient “nation of nations” covering the vast continent. Inclusive growth failed to address the problem of poverty. Pervasive corruption and ineffective governance are identified as the fundamental causes for the failure. The legal view of corruption is not in sync with the entrenched notions of nepotism and “the splendour of those in power”, he points out rightly. In order to illustrate the poor quality of governance, Gordon discusses the issues of policing and internal security at some length.
Independent South Asia inherited national boundaries that have scant regard to ethnic, religious, and economic factors. Consequently, India (“giant among pygmies”) is confronted with “enmeshed dissonance” in the region. The entrenched antagonism between India and Pakistan naturally affected South Asia in all respects and sectors.
Competition among the global powers, the double edged impact of globalisation on the Indian Nation State, and the world wide struggle between the West and “militant Islam”, according to Gordon, are the three major factors that intersect and complicate the South Asian dissonance. India-China relations which were closer on global issues till recently are changing and tensions are on the rise. Tibetan rivers, climate change, economic globalisation, and fight against terrorism are discussed to highlight the growing disagreements between the two leaders of the Third World. Collusion between China and Pakistan against India is another powerful factor aggravating the South Asian dissonance.
Stating the obvious, Gordon declares that unless India can rise above its domestic and neighbourhood problems, it cannot reach its potential as a power in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Asia. He affirms that India enjoys distinctive geo-strategic advantages with respect to IOR. India’s “continental” approach acts as a limitation on its role in IOR and Asia in general. Of late India is increasing budget allocations to the Navy. But, this new awareness of its importance does not seem to be a prelude to the emergence of a coherent and forward looking Indian Ocean strategy in the making, the study points out.
For India economic development is prior to militarism. The Union Government should lead by focusing on the lower order issues of internal security — namely governance in general, anti-corruption, police and judicial reforms, human rights, etc. — though these are in the domain of the States. India must become an example of stability and growth for its neighbours in South Asia. The country should take the lead in resolving the problems of South Asia in so far as it can. India should develop a coherent neighbourhood policy. Gordon advocates what he calls “strategic altruism”, arguing that India should give unilateral concessions to its South Asian neighbours (and not insist on “mathematical reciprocity”). A generous policy of sharing rapid economic growing and prospering together is needed. India should isolate Pakistan and build multilateral and bilateral relations with all the other member nations of SAARC, Gordon suggests. This approach has been in place for some time now, it must be added. He also advocates working on the hydro-electric potential of the region and cross border transportation links via Bangladesh in order to connect the North Eastern states.
India should look beyond South Asia and build a genuine collective security system covering IOR, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Persian Gulf. Gordon concludes by saying that all the bilateral relations in the region (including India-U.S. relations) will be determined by the U.S.-China equation. As of now, the U.S. is not keen on building an open coalition to contain China, but to promote India’s rise as an economic and military power to act as a counterweight to China in the near and long term future.
